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McLaren has not wasted much time in unveiling what will be its official livery for the 2024 F1 season and also announced its eagerness to sign Lando Norris for the long haul. This comes as a surprise because it's not as if Norris is currently on the F1 driver market or seemingly has a performance clause that could take him out of the team.
The driver has been part of the family ever since he debuted. He's grown in stature with every year and there are quite a few on the grid that back him to be a future World Champion now. The 2023 F1 season was brilliant for Lando Norris. He secured quite a few podiums and even got a sprint pole position.
Both the team and the driver are starting to peak now and in that scenario, it's almost a no-brainer that McLaren wants to keep Lando Norris for the long haul and build the team around him. Having said that, the Woking-based squad does not need to prioritize signing an extension with Norris, at least in 2024. Here's why.
Wait for Oscar Piastri to mature
Oscar Piastri came into the sport bereft of the hype his junior career deserved. He had won the F3 and F2 titles as a rookie and was Alpine's prized possession before McLaren snatched him up. His first season was impressive but more than that, he showed the skills of an elite driver.
Piastri didn't seem like a driver who didn't know how to manage himself in F1 in his rookie year, but showed the aptitude of someone who knew exactly what he needed to do. While there are many F1 pundits that have jumped the gun, the proof is in the pudding. The 22-year-old Australian needs to show on the track how big of a step he's taken over the summer break. Can he be competitive against Lando Norris? Can he beat him regularly?
A second year in F1 will give a better idea of where Piastri really belongs. If he is that good, McLaren will have two drivers who are at the elite level in F1 and can extract the best from the car at hand.
Two fast, competitive drivers are hard to manage
Now comes the second and the most important aspect, which relates to a potential danger with which McLaren is flirting. During his interview with Sky Sports, Zak Brown talked about how the team had a history of having Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna in the same team.
Well, McLaren did. But it was a nuisance to manage and led to a lot of controversy. Even Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton were together in 2007 and it did not turn out as well as it should have.
There's a reason why long and sustained dominant runs at the top of F1 feature a driver lineup where there is a lead driver and a second driver who plays the supporting cast. Two young and fast drivers are not necessarily the path that many take.
Two years is enough time for the Lando Norris-Oscar Piastri line-up to unravel
Finally, the McLaren boss must understand that two years is a long time in F1. Lando Norris has a contract until the end of 2025. One can't predict how the driver dynamics are going to evolve between him and Oscar in the coming years.
Still, one thing seems certain. If the Australian is competitive against Lando and the car is going to fight at the sharp end of the grid, tensions are going to rise between the two drivers. Could that lead to either of the two looking at other options? Could that lead to a scenario where McLaren goes for an approach more in line with what Red Bull has?
The answers to those questions will come in due time and for that, McLaren has to let the Oscar Piastri-Lando Norris situation marinate a bit. By the end of 2024 or early 2025, McLaren would have a much better baseline to choose whichever path it wants to take. Right now it's just a tad early.
